A Caseload
by Elibookworm
Summary: Harry decides that he needs a break from all the pesky reporters and photographers, so what does he decide to do? Dive headfirst into his work of course! However, things don't go quite as planned, and a certain Draco Malfoy has a major role in it.
1. A New Job?

Hi guys!  
So this is my first fanfic that I have ever written, so I would greatly appreciate any feedback that you have, positive or negative, and anything as simple as a spelling error! Now, enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, seeing as I am not J. K. Rowling, I do not own anything of Harry Potter, and will make no gain. It's just me and my imagination.

Harry really couldn't deal with all the reporters and photographers. They always showed up at the most inoppurtune moments, blinding him with flash bulbs and deafening him with questions. Yeah, he was The-Boy-Who-Lived-Twice, and yeah, he may have defeated Voldemort at a young age, but that was precisely the problem! He was still young, and he wouldn't stay young forever. So, even though becoming an Auror had been his dream all through his Hogwarts education, he was going to do something else with his life. Something to keep him out of the lime light as much as possible. Something like basket weaving.

Unfortunentally, basket weaving seemed painstakingly boring. But what else could he do? If he got an exciting job, he would most likely be put in the paper for it. But then it hit him. He could be a home security installer! It would enable him to help people without being particularly exciting. No, that wouldn't do. He could stay an auror, but do the low profile cases, like home robberies, and occasionally a homicide. That sounded promising, so he decided to go and talk to Kingsly about it, and ask him if he could be taken off of the high profile cases he was currently on. However, around 15 minutes later after his explanation, Kingsly Shacklebolt did not seem too pleased.

"And why on earth would I do that, Auror Potter? Take one of my best and hardest working aurors and assign him to monkey work? And here I was, thinking that you would be one of the few who would actually think of other's safety before your own. However, we can test it out for a week or two, but I want you to do some serious thinking about this. Now, here are a couple of breaking and entering cases thay we think might be linked, you can work on these unil you come to your senses."

Needless to say, Kingsly was not too pleased with Harry.

So Harry did what he was asked, and sat down at his desk to look at the case files. There were five houses in total that had been robbed, various valuables missing from each. A breathtaking neclace from one, an ancient clock from another, a golden-rimmed bath tub from yet another. Harry wondered why on earth the robber thought that these various items were needed and what he or she was planning on doing with them. However, something strange caught his eye, on odd simularity between all five.

Besides the same unknown spell used to break down the protective wards around the houses, each house reported that the socks left on the floor were stolen from each. This struck Harry as oddly peculiar, and he couldn't remember for the life of him why it sounded familiar. There was something that happened in his life that involved socks, but it was refusing to be snagged. So Harry decided he needed to visit Hermione, the memory of his group of friends. He would have asked Ginny, but Harry wanted to give her some space, seeing as they had recently broken up due to Ginny's love of the lime light. So, Harry sent Hermione a letter to tell her he was coming.

"Hey Harry! I didn't expect to see you today. But I'm glad you came, I've missed you," Hermione said, hugging him as he stepped across the threshold.

"Yeah, I've meant to come and talk to you for a while, but I didn't want to have to face Ron, he seemed pretty livid about me and Ginny," Harry replied.

"He was pretty annoyed. But now that he has had some time to think about it, he has started to realize that you were probably right, and that you and Ginny were not a couple destined to last," Hermione assured him. "Now, why did you come visit me? Not that I am complaining, just curious."

And so Harry launched into his story of his lack of a new career, and how the case that he was now working struck a chord with him, and that he couldn't remember why. But it had something to do with socks.

"Socks, you say?" Hermione asked. "That does seem familiar. I can't remember why though off the top of my head. I will think about it though, hopefully I will have an answer for you soon."

"Thanks, Hermione, you're the best" Harry said, smiling greatfully. They sat and chatted for a little while longer about how their lives were going, and basically catching up on some missed time. Soon, Ron came home, and was startled to see Harry sitting on the couch, conversing with his girlfriend.

"Oh, hey Ron. I was just about to leave, don't worry," Harry said, hastily standing up from the couch.

"Oh, come now Harry, stay for dinner! Ron and I haven't gotten to sit and chat with you in a while, and we both miss you very much, right Ron?" Hermione exclaimed, staring purposefully at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, maybe a little," Ron replied, a little hesitant. Harry and Ron both worked as aurors and had been partners until Harry and Ginny had broken things off, because Ron had decided that he needed a little space from Harry.

Hermione got up to go and start making dinner, seeing as she refused to puchase a house elf and Ron did not inherit his mother's skill at cooking. This left Harry and Ron standing in the sitting room, awkwardly regarding one another.

"So, Ron, how has life been?" Harry asked tentively.

"Fine."

"Any interesting cases?" Harry asked, thinking that Ron was always willing to talk to Harry about his work.

"No."

"Oh."

"You?" Ron asked, finally looking at Harry.

"Yeah," Harry replied. "A breaking and entering case where they reported various valuables missing. And, oddly enough, any socks left laying on the floor."

"Socks? Really?" Ron asked. Now that he was curious, he decided to give a whole two words to Harry.

"Yeah, it's odd. I have this feeling that something happened with socks in our lives, but I cannot remember for the life of me what it was," Harry said, hopeing to get Ron to start talking.

"Huh. Does sound familiar," Ron replied, avoiding Harry's eyes again.

Harry sighed. " Listen, Ron, I am sorry about Ginny, but things just weren't working between us, and neither of us were very happy towards the end. I know that she may seem more upset than I am, but we both agreed it was for the better. So please, stop ignoring me. I miss my best mate."

Ron finally looked a little sheepish, shifting from foot to foot. He really wasn't good at this sort of thing, his pride tends to complicate things.

"I know. It's just, she's my little sister, I feel like I should protect her." Ron replied. "Although I will say that I am slightly glad that you guys broke up, it was always weird thinking about you with my little sister" Ron admitted, scrunching up his face a little at the thought.

Harry laughed, glad that Ron finally said an entire sentence to him. Soon enough, Harry and Ron were making small talk, not quite totally forgiving eachother, but working on it. Just then a stream of curse words came flooding out of the tiny kitchen, and Ron and Harry both jumped up and ran to the kitchen, wands at the ready.

It turned out Hermione had been eavesdropping on their conversation, and had accidentaly let the noodles cook themselves into one giant, mushy noodle.

"I'm so sorry guys! I just stopped paying attention to it, and I let it boil into this giant mess. I'm afraid that we will have to go out for dinner, this is a tad unsalvageable," Hermione admitted, flustered.

"It's ok, Hermione. We can go to this little restaurant one of the other aurors showed me in Diagon Alley the other day, it has delicious Italian-style food," Ron said, smiling at his girlfriend.

So Hermione grabbed her purse, and they side-alonged with Ron to the apparation point near the aforementioned restoraunt. Less than thirty seconds after stepping onto the sunset colored street, there were shouts of "It's Harry Potter!" and "It's the Golden Trio!" and flashes of blinding light. So Ron grabbed Harry's arm and Hermione's hand and dashed up the street into the little Italian restaurant. Needless to say, they would probably be plastered across newspapers in the entire wizarding world by sunrise tomorrow, if not sooner.

"I'm so sorry about that guys. It seems like no matter what I try and do, the press always finds me, and always finds a way to ruin a perfectly good time," Harry lamented.

"It's ok Harry, just ignore them, the craze will probably die down eventually" Hermione comforted him. She was about to say more, but was interupted by a slim, pretty, Brunette waitress.

"Here are your menus, do you know what you like?" she asked, winking at Harry. 'Oh great, not another one,' thought Harry as he politely smiled at the waitress. "I think we will all just have waters to start with, thanks" Hermione responded, clearly annoyed.

"Coming right up!"

When they got their waters, Harry ordered the pasta special, Ron ordered a chicken dish, and Hermione ordered a soup and salad, and the waitress left to deliver their orders and loiter around the corner. Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon started chatting about this and that, and generally having a good time, and thoroughly enjoyed their meals. However, at the door, Harry said that he really should go back to the Ministry to finish some paper work he had been putting off for a while now, and they parted ways through the croud of reporters.

Harry was just putting the final touches on his report of a recently closed case when a new apprentice who was running errands for the veterans came over with a manilla folder.

"Uh, hi, Auror Harry? Mr. Shacklebolt told me to come and give you this, uh, this file. He said it was, uh, was connected to your case? Well, have a nice day."

The apprentice scampered off before Harry could get out a "Thank you." So he shrugged and looked in the folder, curious about how this may help his case. Inside was a report that there was another breaking and entering with the same m.o. as the previous ones. Except there was a major difference between this one and the others.

This one was at the Malfoy Manor. And Harry was asked to personally come and assess the situation.

'What a great way to ruin what was turning out to be a decent night. Now I get to return to the home of many nightmares,' Harry thought.


	2. A Walk Down Memory Lane

Please comment! Let me know your inner thoughts regarding my story. Comments are like honey flowing from the hands of gods! They are elixirs of life! And I need to live. Disclaimer: I wish I owned Harry Potter. But, alas, I don't, and therefore bestow upon you this lovely piece of fanfiction, from which I make no profit.

Chapter Two

Harry really did not want to return to Malfoy Manor. He still had nightmares of Hermione's screams of pain, of poor little Dobby, and of Bellatrix Lestrange. However, Bellatrix was dead, Lucius was in Azkaban, and Voldemort was defeated once and for all, so this visit should go a little better than the previous one.

So Harry shut his eyes, envisioned the gate at the end of the Malfoy driveway, and apparated. And was promptly transported back in time because absolutely nothing had changed since he had been there last. There were still the tall hedges, the whole lot spick-and-span, but there was one difference. The aura seemed different around the house. Harry supposed that is what happens when dark wizards leave it behind.

"Master Malfoy wants to know if Mister Harry Potter Sir will come inside?" a little house elf asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Stuck down memory lane." Harry replied, and walked through the gate.

Once he walked down the lengthy driveway, the door opened, and none other than Draco Malfoy himself stood holding the doornob.

"I see you finally figured out how to make your feet move. I was beginning to wonder if I would need to have one of the house elves come and transport you inside, Potter."

"I see you still have a certain way with words, Malfoy. Now, are you going to let me take a look through your house, or am I going to have to make a guess as to all of the contents that still remain and those that were stolen?" Harry replied. The new master of the house apparantly had changed just as much as the mansion had. Draco smirked and stepped aside to let Harry inside.

"I could give you a fairly accurate description of the items stolen, but Mother will probably be slightly more accurate seeing as I am...taking a break from the Manor for a little while, and Mother did a little rearranging after Father and I left," Draco explained, looking at the house around him.

Harry could tell that Draco was right. He didn't have too great a memory of the inside of the Manor, seeing as he only really got acquainted with the basement, but everything seemed cozier. Almost like it was trying to make up for the lack of people inhabiting it at the moment.

"Yes, well I had to close a few of the rooms in order to do it, so that it would have more of a homey feel. It really is too empty here all by myself without you, Draco darling," drawled Mrs. Malfoy as she entered into the room. Besides having a bit more gray hair, the matriarch of the Malfoy household looked the same as she did when Harry last saw her in the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Yes, well Mother, you understand that I cannot live here at the moment," replied Draco, silently asking his mother to drop where the conversation was going. "Why don't you show Potter around, and explain what is missing?"

"Now, Draco! That is no way to treat our guest who is trying to help us solve this case! Auror Potter, would you like a cup of tea or anything before we start in on our business here today?" Mrs. Malfoy asked.

"No, thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. And please, call me Harry. I really don't like how formal 'Auror Potter' sounds," Harry replied, smiling at Mrs. Malfoy.

"Well, in that case, please, call me Narcissa. Now, if you would follow me, the closest robbed room is right on through this door," Narcissa said, walking towards the door on the far side of the enterence hall.

Narcissa gave Harry a tour of the rooms with items stolen from them, along with detailed descriptions of the missing pieces. The final list of missing items amounted to a vase, a cauldren, a chair, and a picture of Draco and Narcissa when Draco was a little boy.

"Did you notice any socks missing?" Harry asked, thinking that if it were the same person, there would be socks missing.

"No, not that I am aware of, why do you ask?"

Harry then explained how the other houses that were robbed with a similar m.o. reported that any socks left on the floor were gone when they returned home.

"Well, you would be hard pressed to find a sock on the ground here, the house elves do a wonderful job of keeping the rooms neat and tidy," Narcissa replied, obviously proud of her tidy home.

"Ah, I see then. Well, thank you Narcissa for letting me into your home today. It was a pleasure seeing you," Harry said, smiling at her.

"You are quite welcome Harry, the same to you. Now, I am sure that Draco would be more than willing to show you to the door. I am afraid that I have some business I must attend to, and quickly. Until next time." Narcissa said, smiling back at Harry, before she left the room, leaving Harry and Draco alone.

"This way, Potter," Draco said, standing in the other doorway. The two of them walked in silence to the front door. When Harry went to step through the door, Draco reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Potter, thank you for actually taking this seriously. The last Auror did not, knowing my family's role in the war. But I figured you would take this seriously, seeing as Mother saved your life. So thank you. This house means a lot to Mother," Draco said.

Harry was surprised that Draco was actually acting civilly towards him. "It's nothing, I am simply doing my job. And your mother seems like a pleasant person, so that helps."

"Yes. Now, please leave, you are letting all the outside air in, and I would like to keep it out."

Since Draco seemed to have decided to stop acting nice, Harry did as asked, and left so he could apparate back to the Ministry. When he got there, he updated the list of stolen valuables (and socks), and then stored the file away in his desk drawer. Harry then realized it was getting pretty late, and that it was time to head home to his little house he kept so that there would be no reporters. The only people who know were this house is are Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and a handful of other people who know how much privacy means to Harry. So he was very surprised when,upon his arrival, he was blinded by flashing lights and deafened by yelling people.

"Harry! What's your favorite food?" "Mr. Potter! Did you and Professor Dumbledore have a secret relationship before his death?" "Mr. Potter, why did you break up with Miss Weasley?" "Harry! What do you wear to bed?"

'Man, I hate reporters' Harry thought as he fought his way through the croud to get to the wards surrounding his house. 'It looks like I will need to move. Again.'

Once he got inside, he cast a silencing spell, so that he would not be able to hear the rucus outside. And then he started to laugh about the rediculous questions the reporters were asking.

"Did Dumbledore and I have a secret relationship? What kind of question is that? Ew, no! He was my professor and a whole lot older than I was. And then what do I wear to bed? Why on earth would I tell you that? And why did I break up with Ginny? Now come on..." Harry stopped laughing and his face got more and more serious. "Wait a minute. How did they know we broke up? The only people who know are Ron, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny. And all of them hate reporters just as much as I do, if not more. Except Ginny. And that's why we broke up."

Harry decided he would have to visit Ginny and staighten a few things out with her. However, seeing as it was nearly midnight and too late to pay a visit to somebody's house, he would have to wait until tomorrow.


	3. A Dream

Hello once again! Another chapter has been delivered! Not upon request though, because NOBODY HAS COMMENTED! Please! My muse is slowly withering away from lack of comments. It's so sad. Oh, and anything with a * around it is a part of Harry's dream. Disclaimer: I own a book series named Harry Potter, but I do not own the rights to said books. =( I wish I did though.

Chapter 3

Harry was having a difficult time falling asleep. He kept thinking about what the thief would need the various stolen goods for. And then there was the whole issue with having to find another house because Ginny loved the spot light, and the fact that Harry not only faced his Hogwarts nemesis, but returned to the sight of many of his nightmares. So it wasn't very surprising that when he did finally fall asleep, he drempt.

*Harry was walking down an alley, surrounded by swarming lights and shouts, when Ginny's face appeared in the crowd.

"Come on, Harry. It's not that bad. At least then you know people care."

The crowd was getting too close. He began to try harder to get out of the crowd.

"Harry, come meet this nice reporter! He said he would do an interview. With the both of us!" said dream-Ginny.

Then they started grabbing him. They kept grabbing his shirt, his arms, his hands. And then they all vanished, except for one pair of hands on his arm. He turned towards them, and saw their owner. He had no nose.

"I need socks Harry. More socks. Voldemort get a sock?"

Harry couldn't find his wand. But when he looked again, it wasn't Voldemort. It was Draco.

"Thank you."*

Harry woke up, startled. He didn't know which was more disturbing, the crowd of people, Voldemort, or Draco. He cast a spell to look at the time, but was dissapointed to see that it was only 3:45 A.M. It was too early to visit Ginny, so he decided he needed to find something to occupy his time, because he wasn't very tired yet. He went into his cozy kitchen to find something to eat, and found a nice cold slice of pizza, and started munching on it. That was when he heard the tapping on his bedroom window.

He went to his room, pizza slice in hand, and opened the black-out curtains to see what was 'a-tapping, tapping on his chamber door' he thought, chuckling to himself. He saw it was a regal looking owl, with a letter attached to its leg. He cast a quick detection spell, saw the bird was clean, and so let it inside. He gave it a treat in his desk drawer for just such occasions, and the bird floated back off from wherever it came. The letter, he was surprised to see, was from Narcissa Malfoy. It read:

Harry,  
I deeply apologize for how late the owl will reach your home, wherever it may actually be, and so I will not expect an answer right away. However, I wanted to write you of this new devolpement before it slipped quietly from my mind. After you asked me about if any socks were missing from the floor, I was curious to see if any socks were missing at all. And I discovered that all of the socks my husband owned were gone. However, all of mine remain and Draco has his at his current residence. I do not know if this will help your case, but I figured I should bring this new developement to your attention.  
With much gratitude,  
Narcissa Malfoy

Harry was not very surprised that Narcissa had discovered that socks were, in fact, missing. However, he was fairly surprised that they were stolen right out of Lucius' collection. He decided that he would write a letter back to the pleasant Malfoy matriarch.

Narcissa,  
Thank you for telling me about the missing socks, I think that will be helpful for the case. As for the time, I am up at odd hours, so if anything else comes up, case-related or not, let me know, and I will be happy to help.  
Sincerely,  
Harry Potter

His new owl, Gwen, seemed to be out hunting, and so he would need to wait until Gwen returned. Harry was beginning to feel tired again, and seeing as it was still early in the morning, he climbed back into bed and slept, dreaming normal dreams.

When he woke up at a more resonable time, he decided it was time to go pay Ginny a visit. So he ate breakfast, changed into his day-clothes, sent his letter to Narcissa, and headed out the door into the glare of flashbulbs. The lights and yelled questions only served to rekindle his anger to the same level as the previous night. And, when he apparated to Ginny's apartment building and walked up to her door, he had another added bonus. Dean Thomas opened the door, missing his shirt.

"Oh, hey, Harry. I'm assuming you want to see Ginny?" Dean asked, scratching his head.

"No, I came here looking for the answer to life. Of course I came here looking for Ginny!" Harry said, getting very irate.

"Harry, it's ok, Dean was just leaving. Right, Dean?" Ginny's voice drifted in from the room beyond the door. "Let him in, I think he wants to talk."

Dean stepped aside, and Harry entered the room. He saw Ginny lounging on her couch with a magazine in her hand, probably scrounging for any mention of herself. She was dressed in a fuzzy pink bathrobe, which made Harry feel angrier. Dean re-entered the room, plus a shirt this time, and gave Ginny a kiss on his way to the fireplace, and vanished into the green flames.

"Ginny, we need to talk."

"We do. I've moved on Harry, you really should too, it doesn't become you to follow me around like a sad puppy dog," Ginny said, staring expectantly at Harry.

"I need to move on? I don't think so. I think you need to. Did you really need to tell the press where my house is?" Harry asked.

"I didn't mean to, it just slipped out. I was doing an interview with Witch Weekly, and they asked me about you, and I didn't know what to say!" she replied.

"So my address sounded like a good idea?"

"I could've done worse," she said, getting angry too. "At least I have found someone else, I have moved on, I suggest you do the same."

"It's been a little over a week and a half! We had dated for over 4 years, and less than two weeks after we break up, you start sleeping with someone else. Dean, of all people. I thought you hated Dean!"

"I do not! He is a very kind person, and a very talented person, he has hit a lucky point in his life, and it couldn't happen to a better person," Ginny said, trying to protect Dean.

"Ah, I get it now. What ever is happening is going to get him into the public eye, and you plan on being right there next to him through the entire thing. How kind of you," Harry replied sarcastically.

"You know what Harry? I think I want you to leave."

"Well I'm glad, because I don't know how much more of you I could take," Harry yelled, face flushed red. He stood up and stormed out the door, never wanting to see Ginny's face again. Ginny slammed the door behind him.

"Potter, I see you did something to push away you personal Weasel," said a drawling voice behind him. Harry spun around, positively furious now.

"Listen, Malfoy," he snarled. "I don't need your crap right now. Ginny succeeded in giving away my personal, private house address to the press, so now my private home is not so private, and she has already started sleeping around for more attention. So i really cannot deal with you right now."

"That is a difficult situation you are in here. Do you have someplace to go to lie low for a little bit?" Draco asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Not that the press already knows about, thanks to Ginny."

"Well, I have some...personal business I have to attend to for the next couple of days, so I will be out of my home. How about you stay at my place while I am away, that way you can stay out of the public eye for a little while. And we won't even have to see eachother. Just consider it a thank you for taking Mother seriously," Draco said.

Harry just stared at him, highly suspicious. Draco raised his hands up in surrender.

"It's just, I understand wanting to lay low, what with my family's role in the war. So it's an option, but you can be your normal three-brain-celled self and try to deal with the press, it's your choice. Just let me know by tomorrow morning, that's when I depart," Draco said, and walked off down the hall.

'That was odd,' thought Harry. He would have to do some serious thinking about this.

Harry left to apparate back home, and was promptly met with more cameras and questions. By the time he made it inside the silence of his home, his mind was made up. Sure, he may regret it later, bur his mind was made up. So he wrote a letter:

Draco,  
I have decided to take you up on your offer. Please tell me your address so that I can get there by floo.  
Sincerely,  
Harry Potter

A little while after he sent his letter, he got a reply:

Harry,  
I am glad to see that you have finaly used you brain. My address is 4133 King's Lane, on the outskirts of town. I expect to see you before I depart at 8:30A.M.  
Sincerely,  
Draco Malfoy

'Wow, even his private home away from home sounds prentious. King's Lane? Really?' Harry thought, a slight smirk on his face. But Harry decided that he should go to the Ministry, seeing as it was only a Tuesday. So he put on his jacket, and prepared himself for the assault he would experience once he stepped out the door.


	4. A Break in the Case

Hello Lovely readers! I have added the next chapter! =O And a development...Gasp! Now please, don't be shy! Leave me a little note. I like little notes. And long notes, but those tend to be negatory. But I suppose those are all right too. So COMMENT! =) and now, the story! After your local disclaimer note.

Disclaimer: Imagine a world where Elibookworm owns the Harry Potter series and makes a gain from writing fanfiction. Now imagine hearing laughter exploding out of me because it isn't true.

Chapter Four

Once Harry finally got to work, he fell into his chair, already tired. The reporters just do not give up. It had been many years since the end of the war, and they still swamped him at every turn. He was in the midst of such thoughts when he was interupted by a fist rapping on his desk.

"Oi, Harry, have you heard a single thing I've said? I've been talking at you for a solid ten minutes," Ron asked, looking concerned.

"Sorry Ron, I confrunted Ginny this morning," Harry began, and gave him the entire rundown of what had happened so far this morning.

"Geeze! Ginny is my baby sister, and I'm mad at her! How could she? Wait a minute, Malfoy? Really? You trust that creep after everything that he did to us through our entire Hogwarts experience?" Ron asked, not on board with Harry crashing at Draco's house.

"I don't know Ron, he seemed to actually understand why I hate the press so much. And he was really grateful that I am taking his mom's case seriously, he said to consider it a 'thank you'. And it's not like he is going to be there too, he said he had some business he has to attend to for the next couple of days. So it shouldn't be that bad," Harry said, trying to explain it to Ron and himself. He still didn't entirely trust Malfoy, even though he believed that people can change. But people cannot change that much.

"Hmmm," Ron hummed, not entirely buying it. "Whatever mate. But if anything smells fishy, literally or not, you let me or Hermione know right away, you hear me?"

"Yes mother," Harry teased, smiling at Ron.

"Anyway, as I was trying to tell you before you decided to listen, I thought that since we are partners, we should work the same cases. So I asked if I could be put on your case, and Shacklebolt eventually said sure. However we both should try not to stir up trouble, we aren't his favorite aurors right now," Ron warned.

"Ah, ok," Harry said, rummaging around in his desk. "Well, here is the file, take a look and see if you find anything."

Ron read through the files, but didn't think of anything Harry had missed.

"I wish we could remember the connection between us and socks," Ron mumbled.

"Well, maybe that should be where we start. Lets try to narrow down our search a little. During or after when we were in Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I'm fairly sure it was during. After was just a lot of death and us trying to live semi-normal lives," Ron replied.

"I suppose that's true," Harry mused.

"Yeah, what with Remus and Tonks, Fred, Dobby, and others, there wasn't much room in our heads or hearts for socks," Ron said.

"Dobby..." Harry said. This seemed to ring a bell. "Do you remember what we used to free Dobby from the Malfoy's?"

"Uh... No. But you know who would?" Ron asked.

"Hermione," they said at the same time. So they headed over to ask her.

"Hermione!" Harry said, stumbling out of the fireplace. "What did we use to free Dobby?"

"To free Dobby? Wow, that was a while ago..." Hermione said, thinking hard. "I remember! A sock! That was the connection we were trying to find the other day!"

"That's right! The sock was in Tom Riddle's diary, and the Elder Malfoy gave it to Dobby. The look on his face was priceless. That whole affair was bloody brilliant," Ron said, smiling at Harry.

"Yeah, it was pretty brilliant. But I'm glad we finally figured out our connection with socks. I don't know if it will help the investigation though," Harry mused.

"Well, do you have pictures of the missing items? Maybe there is a link of appearance," Hermione suggested.

"No, actually, I don't think we do. That's brilliant, Hermione," Ron said, beaming at his girlfriend.

"Get a room!" Harry teased them. "Anyway, I think we should start with the earliest robbery and work our way up to the most recent one, and collect the data that way."

And so they did exactly that. They got pictures the families had with the missing items included in them, and put them into the case file. However, they didn't recognize any more of them off the top of their heads, so they made a mental note to try to find out more from experts and maybe the families themselves. However, it was getting close to lunch time, so they decided to take a break and eat lunch out.

They went to a little sandwich shop in the city, and ordered ham and bree, and then sat in a little booth in the corner away from the windows and reporters. They chatted pleasantly until the serving lady came with their sandwiches on a platter. They thanked her, she smiled, and left them to eat their sandwiches in peace. And so they talked some more.

"So, you really are going to crash at Malfoy's house?" Ron asked, expecting Harry's answer to be different than before.

"Yeah, I think so," Harry replied. "It's logical. And if it proves to be horrendous, I can always just go back to my house and deal with the reporters."

"Yeah, but what are you going to so when he gets back? You aren't going to be able to stay there when he does, and the reporters will still swarm your house," Ron mumbled around a mouthfull of sandwich.

"I'm going to try and find a house or apartment for me to live in while I am there. Then, when Malfoy gets back, I can pack my house and move. I don't even have to sell the house, I can keep it for appearances," Harry answered.

"I don't understand why you don't just floo everywhere. You wouldn't have to deal with the reporters that way," Ron said.

"You know how clumsy I am when it comes to flooing Ron. I almost always trip, and have been known to hurt myself when I exit. I don't want to be alone at home and injured with no communication. Maybe when I settle down with a wife I will floo more, if she is home when I try to floo," Harry replied.

They had just finished tbeir sandwiches and were gathering their coats together when a frazzled young witch stumbled into the shop.

"Somebody help me please! I was at home with my fiancé when a man broke in some how and cast a spell at Robert and he's unconcious I think and the man took some of my stuff and all the socks and I don't know what to do!" She gasped, out of breath.

Harry and Ron turned towards each other, thinking the same thing. This was the first wittness for their case.

"Miss, we are with the Ministry, would you mind showing us to your appartment so we can take a look and get your fiancé to St. Mungo's?" Harry asked.

The woman nodded, releaved that someone was going to help her. She led them to her apartment, and her fiancé was on the floor, so Ron ran over to check his pulse while Harry checked all the rooms to make sure the robber wasn't there anymore. When all the rooms proved clear, he went back into what appeared to be the sitting room, just as Ron stood up with the man in his arms (he had cast a feather light charm) and told Harry he would take the fiancé to St. Mungo's, and that Harry should take the woman to the Ministry so that they could get a drawing of the robber. Harry nodded as Ron vanished.

"Miss, if you would grab my arm, I would like to bring you to the Ministry and set you down infront of a sketch artist," Harry asked holding out his arm.

"Will Rob be ok, Mr. Potter?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes, Ron will make sure that he is alright and will let us know when he is better."

"Ok," she said as she grabbed onto his arm. Sometimes his fame proved helpful, as the woman seemed to trust him already and knew who he was.

When they got into the Ministry building, everybody was running around in a panic. Harry grabbed the arm of a wizard passing by and asked what was going on.

"We just found out that somebody was taking polyjuice potion and staying in jail in Lucius Malfoy's place, so we have no idea how long he has been out of jail," he said before rushing off in a hurry.

Harry was dumbfounded. Lucius Malfoy had escaped jail, and nobody knew where he was. But then he thought there might be someone who would know, and should be warned if she didn't.

It was time to pay another visit to Malfoy Manor.


	5. A Face From the Past

Caio! Another chapter. I already have the first, like, nine chapters done and am working on the tenth, but it isn't on my computer, so it takes me a little while to upload. My apologies! And you know how life tends to get in the way. So I am apologizing for any long gaps in the future. Anyway, on with the story! And COMMENT! Please, leave at least one word...I got one, which is sooo amazing! I will respond to comments =)

MidnightShadeux - I appreciate the feedback. I know I tend to write that way, I'm trying to fix it but it's hard. =P

Disclaimer: If I owned the rights and whatnot to Harry Potter, don't you think I wouldn't need to write fan fiction? You would find more books on the shelves that look a little more like this story than what the lovely J. K. Rowling wrote. =)

Chapter Five

Harry really wanted to go ask Narcissa if she had any idea about where her husband was, but first he had to find a sketch artist for the woman whom, he realized now, he had never gotten the name of.

"Come right on over, Miss...?" he asked.

"Veronica."

"Well, Veronica, we will have to go up a few floors in the elevator, and then we will be able to get a picture of the robber, and maybe a name," Harry said.

So they went into the elevator and waited as two other witches and a wizard piled into the little elevator before they shot off backwards.

One of the witches got off the elevator a few floors later, and Harry escorted Veronica off at the next one. Harry found a wizard decent with drawing who was willing to try and draw the robber. Veronica described the man in as much detail as possible, from his pale blond hair to haughty look to expensive shoes. And it looked a lot like Lucius Malfoy.

"Thank you Veronica, this is really helpful," Harry told her. "Now Auror Ferdinand over here will take your formal statement for the report, and I will check in on you in a little bit, I am going to try and find out where this man may be."

Veronica nodded, and Harry left her to be further interogated by Ferdinand. He wrote a quick letter to Ron about the new developement in the case, and sent Gwen on his way. Harry then left to apparate to Malfoy Manor to talk with Narcissa Malfoy.

When he got there, he walked right up to the front door but before he could knock, Draco opened the door.

"Wow, you just can't stay away can you Potter?" Draco drawled.

"Can it Malfoy, I'm here to ask your mother about something," Harry said testily. He really couldn't stand Draco most of the time.

"Come Draco dear, let Harry in! Must you always be rude to him?" Narcissa's voice floated in from beyond the door.

"Sorry Mother," Draco said, opening the door farther to let Harry inside. Harry brushed past Draco, which made Draco chuckle and Harry bristle.

"Hello Harry, do come and sit down. What can I do for you this fine afternoon?" Narcissa asked from the couch in the adjacent room. Harry took a seat in the arm chair across from her, leaving Draco to stand behind his mother on the couch.

"Well, Narcissa, there has been a developement in the case, but I'm not sure you will be very pleased," Harry warned.

"Harry, please, my husband was heavily involved in a variety of...activities, there are many things I have heard that I have not liked," Narcissa reminded him.

"Well, this actually has to do with your husband. You see, someone took his place in jail by taking a polyjuice potion, and we now have a wittness in our case connecting Lucius to the various Robberies," Harry said. Narcissa paled.

"Mother, are you alright? Do you want some water?" Draco asked, hovering over his mom.

"No, Draco dear, thank you, but I will be all right. This news has just taken me a bit by surprise," Narcissa comforted her son. "However, I don't understand why my husband would rob our home, I thought it had meant a lot to him. Are you sure it's him?"

"The man our wittness described fits Lucius almost exactly," Harry informed her.

"But why? Why would he do this?" Narcissa asked.

"You know him, Mother. Father didn't get what he wanted. And when he doesn't get what he wants, he takes what others want. I'm guessing all the items missing from the other houses have significant family value? Family heirlooms purhaps?"

"We haven't asked the families yet, but they haven't volunteered any information about the items other than they are very valuable. Now, Narcissa, I would like you to think about where your husband may possibly be," Harry asked, leaning forward in his chair, hands folded over his lap.

"I cannot believe it. I thought all this was done. Foolishly I thought that once the war was over and we paid for our crimes, we would be able to live out our lives, Draco and I. But I guess not," Narcissa lamented.

"I think you have done quite enough Potter, Mother needs a break. I will usher you to the door, but I do hope you will continue to search for Father and our missing items," Draco said, motioning towards the door. As he ushered Harry towards the front enterance, Narcissa just sat on the couch in a daze.

"I will see you at our designated meeting time tomorrow morning, unless you decide to back out due to this new developement. Either way I will still be leaving. Now if you will leave, I need to attend to my Mother whom you have kindly sent into a state of shock," Draco said, holding open the front door. And so Harry left, but not before asking what Draco had meant when he said that his father had not gotten what he wanted.

"He wanted his version of the perfect family," Draco said, and shut the door. Harry stood wondering what that family would be like, and shivered before he left to check in on Veronica and take her to St. Mungo's to visit her fiancé.

Harry stopped by the Ministry to pick up Veronica and go to St. Mungo's. When they got there, they asked the witch at the front desk where Veronica's fiancé would be, and she directed them towards the correct room. Luckily the press was not allowed inside St. Mungo's, so Harry did not have to compete with them to get to the room. When they got there, they found Ron sitting next to Rob, who was unconcious on the hospital bed.

"How is he?" Veronica asked rushing to his side. "Why is he still unconcious? Rob, baby, come back to me!"

"He is doing fine, they woke him up a little while ago and then put him under to make sure he would be entirely healthy, because they weren't really sure what spell he got hit with," Ron assured her.

"Oh, thank God! I just want him back," she said, sitting on the floor next to the bed, holding her fiancé's hand.

"We are going to leave you two alone, but a fellow auror will be right out the door to let us know when Rob awakens," Ron said, standing up, and Harry did the same. Veronica nodded, not taking her eyes off of her fiancé.

"I wish I had someone who cared for me like that," Harry said.

"You will someday, probably. Or not. You never know!" Ron said, smiling back at him.

"Gee, thanks Ron. That makes me feel so much better," Harry said, and ignored him the entire way back to the Ministry.

When they got there, they added a few more notes to their case files, but seeing as it was getting close to dinner and Ron had a date with Hermione, they decided to call it a night and head their separate ways. So Harry headed home and bulldozed his way through the reporters, into the quiet of his home. He made himself something to eat, then read through the newspaper before he decided to retire early for the night. However, when he walked into his bedroom, he realized something was off.

All the socks were missing from his floor.


	6. An Uncomfortable Situation

Hello all y'all! I (finally) posted another chapter. I'm sooooooo sorry for the delay! I didn't mean for things to drag on this long, but exams before break caught up with me. Lots of late nights. =( But here it is, the next chapter! Enjoy =)

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own. Oh well. I think I have a pencil around here somewhere...

Chapter Six

This was not good. Someone, probably Lucius, had broken into his house and took the socks he had left on the floor. Harry felt dread in house. And so he decided he would sleep at his desk until it was time to leave.

Needless to say, he got little if any sleep before he had to leave. At 8:20 he decided that he had enough of waiting and he wanted to sleep, so he headed over to the fireplaces to floo to Draco's house. He stumbled out of Draco's fireplace and landed right on his butt.

"I see you are still as graceful as ever, Potter," Draco said, smirking at Harry.

"Well, I got no sleep last night since I had to stay at the office because your father broke into my house, so it wasn't safe for me to stay because your dad hates me," Harry snapped.

"I suppose he does, doesn't he?" Draco said. "Anyway, Potter, here are some ground rules: no guests, either sleep on the couch or wash the sheets if you sleep on the bed, and try not to consume all my food. I will be back on Saturday at the latest, however I don't expect to be any earlier. And please, try not to destroy my house while I'm gone." And with that, Draco went out the front door and apparated to wherever it was he was going. Harry smiled. He had the perfect oppurtunity to find something to tease Draco about, seeing as he was living in his house for the next couple of days.

However, Draco seemed to anticipate this, seeing as there was nothing personal in the house. Harry didn't know if it was because Draco had hidden them away or if he just did not have any personal items in the house. Harry was very dissapointed either way. He wandered into the kitchen to find something to drink before he crashed on the couch. He found a container of milk that was half full, and so he poured himself a glass, downed it, and then went into what he assumed was the sitting room. He stretched out on the couch as much as he could, and promptly fell asleep.

He woke up around noon, and raided the kitchen again to find some food to eat. He saw a box of cereal in a cabinet, and so put some in a bowl and poured milk in it. Once he finished his cereal, he realized that he never packed clothes for him to change into. Or anything else he would need during the trip either, so he needed to do a little shopping for clothes. Spells would have to do for the rest because shopping for clothes with the press breathing down his neck was going to be torture enough. Harry decided that he was going to cast a disguising spell, so that they wouldn't know who he was, even though he knew he was going to be exhausted after because of the amount of energy necessary for the upkeep of the spell. Therefore, Harry wrote a letter to Shacklebolt saying that he was going to take the entire day off, not just the morning like he had previously thought he would. Then he cast the spell, and headed off to Diagon Alley.

When he got there, the street had a small crowd, given that it was a wednesday afternoon. He went into the first clothing store on the left, and was overwhelmed by the number of choices. He was going to have his work cut out for him. So he walked over to the nearest rack, and started pulling hangers.

A couple of hours later, Harry had to admit that he had gone a little far. All he needed was a few outfits to make it to saturday, and he had...a bit more than that. But the sales lady was really, really good at her job. So Harry had a few bags of clothes that he lugged back to Draco's house. When he got there, he collapsed onto the couch and ended the disguise spell, and promptly fell asleep. Again.

He woke up just as it was beginning to get a bit dark, and the first thing he noticed was that he felt disgusting. He had fallen asleep in the same clothes he had been wearing yesterday, and they were beginning to feel like it. So he stripped down, and decided to take a quick shower and cast a spell to wash his hair and body while wet so that he wouldn't have to use Draco's shampoo and soap. It would have been a perfect opportunity to mess with Draco's head, but he did not want to smell like Draco. Living in his house and smelling him was bad enough, and it had only been a day! Harry had no idea why he had thought that this would be a good idea. Although he had to admit that it was nice not to have the press right outside the wards again. Which reminded him, he should be looking for a new house while he was here. So he sat down at the kitchen table and unfolded the newspaper left on the counter, and was promptly greeted with a picture of Harry and Draco talking in front of Ginny's appartment.

Harry couldn't believe it. Why did the press have to try and document everything that went on in his life? And there were some interesting theories as to why they were talking. It ranged from they were arguing like usual to they were discussing the details of their secret affair. Harry didn't understand why everyone was so interested in his sex life. He wasn't gay! Sure he had never experimented, but he dated Ginny for years and had that thing for Cho. He thought that had to stand for something, right?

Harry decided to just ignore it, and flipped to the part where the houses for sale were posted. He saw a few that could work, two houses and an apartment, so he circled them to set up an appointment to tour them. But Harry could not get the article out of his head. He was straight. He was! Sure, he had thought some men were attractive, but that was more of a bromance sort of thing, right?

Harry really was not comfortable with the direction his thoughts were heading. So he headed off for bed. Probably not his best idea, but he didn't really know what else to do. So he fell asleep.

And dreamt. It was not good.

*Harry was anxious. He hadn't made it home yet, had been stuck in traffic for around an hour now. Never again was he going to take muggle transportation. It took to long. And it kept Him waiting. And He hated waiting. Although it wasn't that bad, the "punishment." Harry grinned.

And then he was home, and Harry was horny as hell. He had just spent the last half an hour thinking about the "punishment" and Harry couldn't take it anymore. He needed Him.

He was never so happy to see Draco open the front door.

"Hey baby," Draco said.*

Harry woke up, and decided that he was never falling asleep when his thoughts were heading in *that* direction again. That just made for an awkward and disturbing night. Because Harry definentally did NOT want to fall asleep and dream again. He was really disturbed.

And, unfortunately, hard. The idea of "punishment" seemed to have turned him on. Which raised a whole lot of questions he did not want to think about. So he went to take a cold shower, because he would NEVER say that he masturbated to thoughts of Draco Malfoy. No. Just, no.

After his shower, Harry didn't know what to do. It was around five in the morning, so it was getting close to the time for him to head in for work, so he decided to head in a little early.

The day passed, and nothing new or exciting happened at work. Ron and Harry tried to find out where Lucius might be, but to no avail. So after a frustrating day of doing nothing that seemed productive, Harry headed back to Draco's house. He ate a sandwich for dinner and scheduled to tour the apartment on saturday afternoon. Then he went to bed and was very thankful that he didn't dream.

The next day he woke up at a decent hour, and knew something was going to happen because he was getting bored. At work there was a lead about Lucius's whereabouts that fell through the floor, and that was the most exciting thing that happened so far that day. Which was dissapointing, because it was a friday and fridays were supposed to be entertaining.

However, that changed when Harry got back to Draco's house because Draco came home early, and boy was he pissed.

"That bloody cheater. I can't believe it. I am a Malfoy! This doesn't happen to me!"

"Malfoy?" Harry called out, bewildered. "What are you doing here early?"

"Oh bloody hell, I forgot you were here. I found out my significant other was cheating on me with another man, and I could not stay there any longer," Draco answered.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I know how hard having a cheating girlfriend can be, seeing as Ginny cheated on me," Harry said trying to comfort Draco a little bit.

"I never said it was my girlfriend," Draco said.

"But you said...?" Harry dropped off, confused.

"I'm gay, Harry. Don't you read the newspapers? Blaise and I had been going steady for a good year, but apparantly he has been cheating on my for almost as long. The press loved us, but I guess it meant nothing to him," Draco snapped, storming off into an adjacent room. Harry was stunned.

Draco was gay? Harry definitely hadn't seen this coming.


	7. A Decision

Hello once again! And I know, so soon! Tell me about it. I would love to hear from all y'all. =) And I got another review! So it's time to respond:

MidnightShadeux- yes, the crisis does indeed begin. ;) And thank you! I'm glad you didn't find anything negative in the last chapter, that makes me happy. If you find anything in this chapter, let me know! And I have no idea what Blaise was thinking, we may find that out later in the story, we shall see. I haven't decided what to do with Blaise yet... ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Is this necessary for every chapter? I think you guys kinda get the point by now...I don't own anything...

Chapter 7

Harry was flabergasted. He wanted to ask Draco questions like how long had he known and that sort of thing, but he figured now was probably not the best time, given that Draco was already pretty worked up. However, there was one thing he had to ask Draco.

"Malfoy, should I leave? How is this going to work until tomorrow?"

There was an annoyed sigh from the other side of the door.

"I don't know, Potter. I don't really want to think about anything right now. Just give me some time," Draco answered.

So Harry decided he would wait. It was very strange for him to see Draco like this. Before Ginny, Harry would have felt like Draco had gotten what he had deserved. But now, he actually knew what Draco was going through, and he wouldn't wish it upon anyone in the world, not even Draco.

Draco didn't emerge again until around dinner, just as Harry started making penne pasta and marinara sauce.

"Is that just for you, Potter, or are you going to be nice and share?" Draco said.

"It depends," Harry responded. "Are you going to act civilly towards me or not?"

"That's a tall order Potter, I'm not feeling very civil right now," Draco warned.

"Well then work on it," Harry responded, and turned back to the pasta. Draco smirked and started getting the bowls and silverware together, figuring that he should make himself useful for something.

When the food was all done cooking, they sat down to eat, and promptly didn't talk. Nobody said anything until Harry could not stand the quiet.

"So..." Harry said. And that's as far as he got. They sat in silence again.

"I really don't know what to say to you, Potter. I don't think we have ever had a civil conversation. So I haven't said anything, because I don't know what to say," Draco explained.

"Same," Harry replied. "Well, I guess we should figure out if I am going back home early or what. If this dinner is any indication though, I think I should go home."

"Have you found another place to live?" asked Draco.

"I found a couple of possibilities, but I haven't been inside any of them yet. I don't want to make any offers before I see the inside of them," Harry explained.

"That makes sense," Draco said. He sat, thinking for a bit, before he spoke again. "How about this: you stay here overnight, visit a house or two, and I will head in to work to catch up on paperwork I missed. That way we won't have to see each other very much."

"I don't know, won't it be weird having the two of us in the same house?" Harry asked.

"Definitely," Draco agreed.

"But you're ok with that?"

"Neither of us are going to be here tomorrow, and you are going away after that. We were in the same building for years during our education," Draco pointed out.

"But that was Hogwarts, that's different. But I guess if you are ok with it, it's fine with me. I was sleeping on the couch anyway," Harry said.

"So then we decided. Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to retire for the night," Draco said.

"Woah woah woah, not so fast! You've got to help with the dishes!" Harry scolded.

"Let the house elf do it," Draco said just as a house elf cracked into the room. He smirked at Harry's annoyed face and then shut the door to his room.

Harry, however, couldn't just leave the house elf to clean up after dinner alone, so he helped, grumbling the entire time. When he finished, he decided he would stay up reading a little before going to bed. So he did exactly that. He read, got ready for bed, and then settled down to sleep. And this is how Draco found him when he came in for a glass of milk.

However, it wasn't quite what he had expected. You see, Harry tended to sleep without a shirt. And, since he was an Auror, he was in decent shape. Not a six-pack, but fit. And Harry's blanket was kind of falling off of him. So Draco raised an eyebrow in appreciation, and went off to bed with some...interesting thoughts regarding Harry. He started to think maybe he should try to be a little nicer to him. Although, he didn't know if he would be able to change that quickly.

Harry ignored Draco, but opened his eyes when Draco left. He had felt Draco's eyes on him, and he was going to have some thinking to do regarding one certain Draco Malfoy. The fact Draco was gay was raising more questions than Harry was comfortable with. Like why did Harry have the dream about Draco the other night, and what that could possibly entail.


	8. House Hunting andOther Things

Why, hello there. Remember me? I am soooooo sorry for how rediculously long this took, but I was swamped! I hope everyone had a happy holiday! As always, let me know what you think! This is my first fanfic after all...so feedback is much appreciated. =) On the the review responses!

MidnightShadeux - I am so happy that you can't find anything to criticize! (so far) Although, be sure to crack down if you find something you are iffy about. I'm assuming there will be a relationship too, but we will have to see what they end up doing. They almost have a mind of their own...I'm trying not to rush things though. I am so glad you liked their interaction =) I hope you like this next chapter too!

LillianLockhart - I'm glad you find it interesting so far! And here, the next chapter. =)

Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter, or Draco Malfoy, or anything else related to Harry Potter. But oh, the things I would do if I did... *laughs evilly*

Chapter Eight

The following morning, after fitfull sleep for both Harry and Draco, Harry was making the final touches so that he could see all three possibilities for his new home. Harry was grabbing his jacket when Draco made a spur of the moment decision:

"I'm going to come house shopping with you."

"What?!" Harry said, confused. "No. I, no, why? I don't, just, why?"

Draco laughed. "Don't get your panties in a twist. I just figured that you should have someone come along who could keep an eye out for the little details you would miss. I wish that someone had helped me with this house, I was too wrapped up in the newness of buying a house. Now shut your mouth, looking like a fish on land is not becoming, and you need all the help you can get on looking becoming."

Harry shut his mouth, and shook his head. "We will have to go in disguise though, the two of us shopping for a house would attrack all of the reporters from the entire world."

"One step ahead of you," said Draco, except he didn't look like Draco anymore. Instead he had black hair, green eyes, and glasses.

"Haha, very funny," said Harry, who now had brown hair and eyes. And then they headed off for the first house.

This first house was a little house on a rather busy street, which was a negative for Harry because it would be harder to hide from the press, and he didn't want to do a disguising charm every time he left his house. There wasn't a lot of yard, which was perfectly fine with Harry because the little grass it did have would be dead by the end of the month.

The inside was fairly bare, which Harry was fine with, but Draco was not. He reminded Harry that he probably wouldn't end up really decorating it anyway, knowing him. Harry agreed, and started to think that maybe this house wouldn't be the best for him. However, Harry wanted to see the rest of them to make sure that this one wasn't for him.

Next up was the apartment, which was quite nice. It was a little small, but Draco pointed out that he wouldn't have to worry about having too much open space with the furniture he already had, even if Draco didn't actually know what the furniture looked like. The real-estate agent gave a tour of the open plan dining/living/kitchen room, and the cozy bedroom. Overall, Harry really liked the apartment, and so the first house was off the list.

They walked up to the final house, and the realtor greeted them at the door. The outside looked nice and inconspicuous, but the rest of the tour went downhill from there, and it had nothing to do with the house.

The realtor jumped to the conclusion that the two men he was giving the tour to were together, since the one that looked a lot like Harry Potter kept giving tips to the other guy about his furniture. Now, gay couples made the realtor a little uncomfortable, and he made the mistake of not covering it up very well. Harry, too engrossed in the house, didn't notice. Draco, however, did, but tried to keep back his temper bevause Harry seemed to like the house. But towards the end of the tour, Draco just couldn't take it anymore.

"Now, I have a question for you Mr. Winterbelt. Does the thought of two men make you uncomfortable?"

Mr. Winterbelt flushed and panicked. "N-n-n-o, it doesn't," he said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Uh huh," Draco responded. "So you are ok if I do this?"

And with that, Draco grabbed Harry and kissed him. Harry discovered then that Draco was a decent kisser. After what seemed like a good awkward time, Draco released Harry's head. Harry was totally stunned. Did Draco really just kiss him? And what on earth prompted it? And the worst questions, in Harry's opinion:

Why did he enjoy it? And why did he kiss back? He didn't mean to, it just kind of...happened.


	9. Figuring Himself Out

Hello loveliest people in the world! Here I am, again, and much faster than before. Aren't you proud of me? I apologize for the (second) short chapter, but the story kinda went off on its own, and this is where it stopped. If it's too short, let me know! I will try to fix it, but I'm not really sure how...so if you have ideas, let me know!

MidnightShadeux - Hello! Yes, I'm back! And I'm glad you loved the kiss, I was rather proud of myself for that. =) I'm glad you only found one spelling mistake, that makes me even happier. And here is your reaction...

LillianLockhart - Here's yet another chapter! I hope you liked the twist. ;) And I'm sorry about how short the chapters are...I'm working on it though! The next ones will hopefully be longer.

Disclaimer - Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own anything, so you shouldn't sue!

Chapter Nine

Harry grabbed Draco's arm, thanked the realtor, and practically ran out of the house. He barely stopped long enough to apparate back to Draco's house with Draco apparating side-along.

"What the hell was that for?" Harry shouted at Draco.

"Now Potter, don't pretend you didn't like it. I felt you start to kiss back," Draco said.

"Why did you kiss me? Why not just grab my hand or something?"

"I think the kiss was much better. It proved a point and I think we all enjoyed it. Except maybe the realtor, he seemed a little shaken," Draco chuckled.

"What point?" Harry asked, getting frustrated.

"Huh, you are just going to ignore the fact that you enjoyed it, aren't you?" Draco asked.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Harry responded. "Now, answer me."

"Fine. But you will have to answer me eventually too. This relationship won't work if we don't communicate, you know," Draco teased. "Why did I kiss you? Well, I thought that was obvious enough for even you to understand. The realtor thought we were a couple and it was obviously making him uncomfortable. It was making me mad because it's our choice even if we are not together. So I decided to spite him. That is kind of what I am known for."

"Yeah, it certainly is. But still, you didn't have to kiss me," Harry responded.

"So? It isn't like it's the end of the world," Draco retorted. "All's well that ends well, and I think that was a rather enjoyable means to an end. However, I can think of a more enjoyable way, can't you?" Draco was having too much fun getting a rise out of Harry. Harry was getting annoyed with Draco, and the conversation was quickly going nowhere Harry was comfortable going with Draco of all people. So he (metaphorically) threw his hands up in the air, collected his stuff, and left. Since it was the middle of the day, he thought it would be perfectly fine for him to go over to Hermione and Ron's house. And if he was lucky, Ron wouldn't be there.

His luck decided to come and stay for a little bit, because Hermione was home alone and Ron wasn't expected to be back for a while. So Harry got to sit down and talk with Hermione and try to figure out his thoughts.

"So, Harry, why did you come over today?" Hermione asked.

"Well, did Ron tell you how I have been staying at Draco's place for the last couple of days?"

"What? No..." Apparently Ron hadn't said anything to Hermione, so they had a decent amount of catching up to do.

"Well, long story short, Ginny told the press where I live, so I confronted her about it except Dean was at her apartment and we just ended up fighting after he left and when I stormed out of the apartment I ran into Malfoy who said that I could stay at his house for a couple of days while he's out of town and I eventually said sure and then my house was robbed by Lucius Malfoy and when I went to Malfoy's I found three possibilities of where I could move to but before I could tour them Draco came home early ranting about his cheating boyfriend because, apparently, he's gay, and so then he decided he would come with me house hunting and at the last one the realtor didn't like gay people so Malfoy got mad and kissed me but I think I might have kissed him back," Harry explained breathlessly.

"That was probably the longest run-on sentence I have ever heard," Hermione stated.

"Well, I hope it is imprinted upon your brain, because I don't think I could say it all like that again if I tried," Harry responded.

"Trust me, that is pretty much cemented on my brain," Hermione said. "So, your house got robbed of privacy and socks?"

"Yes."

"And Dean and Ginny are back together?"

Harry nodded.

"And older Malfoy took your socks and younger Malfoy took your lips?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Hmmm..." Hermione mused. "And you don't know whether or not you enjoyed the kiss."

"Yeah pretty much. I mean, I'm not gay, right? Not that there is anything wrong with gay people, but I'm not one, right?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, Harry. The only person who can really answer that is you. What I will say though, is that I will support you and still be your friend, no matter what team you swing for. Although if you're gay we can gossip about who we find attractive," Hermione teased.

"Gee, thanks Hermione," Harry laughed.

"I can try to help you figure it out though," Hermione suggested. "Have you been attracted to any men before?"

"Sure I've found some men attractive, but that doesn't mean anything," Harry said.

"I'm not saying it does," Hermione responded. "Have you been with anyone other than Ginny?"

"Uhhh..." Harry blushed. "No, but I don't see what that has to do with this."

Hermione smiled. "Have you had any odd dreams lately?"

"Well, yeah, but that's natural because a lot has happened that my brain needs to figure out," Harry said.

"Ok, I can see that. I could ask you more questions, but that would start delving into content and details I don't particularly want to hear the answer to," Hermione admitted.

"Well then we can stop at that," Harry said. "Do you have any more ideas or what?"

"Well, from what you've told me so far, it wouldn't surprise me too much if you were in fact gay. But that doesn't mean you are," Hermione hastened to say before words of denial could tumble out of his mouth. "My piece of advice would be to just keep your mind open, you never know what could really make you happy."

"Wow, that sounds like such a cliché," Harry laughed.

"Oi, whay are you guys laughing about in there?" cried Ron's voice from the entry hall.

"Draco kissed Harry and Harry is now trying to decide if he is gay or not," Hermione yelled back, a smile on her face. She was rewarded with a resounding THUMP from the hallway.

"We probably should check to make sure the floor and Ron are all right," Harry chuckled.

They walked into the hallway, Hermione pulling out her wand so that she could revive Ron. Harry had just enough time to look up and see a shock of pale blond hair behind a red beam before he crumpled unconcious on the floor.


End file.
